Brussels Builds IRIS² as Europe’s Military Satellite Net

The European Commission and the SpaceRISE consortium are building a 348-satellite communications network for military and government users. IRIS² is billed as Europe’s answer to dependence on commercial satellite services, yet its planned capacity also explicitly serves states, armed forces and critical services. Private individuals may get access later.

A state network built by companies

The project’s name stands for “Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite.” Its encryption will use quantum technology through the European quantum communication infrastructure EuroQCI. The planned constellation includes 330 satellites in low Earth orbit and 18 in medium Earth orbit. Another 66 satellites are intended to strengthen defence, security and emergency services.

Commission calculations project a 60 percent rise in secured capacity for public-sector users in the EU and a 54 percent rise worldwide. The first satellites are scheduled to launch in 2029, while initial services are due to roll out gradually from 2029 or 2030. Those dates remain targets, not guarantees.

The contracts place public infrastructure in the hands of corporate builders. Aerospacelab, founded in 2018 and based in Charleroi, Belgium, is building 264 low-orbit satellites. The company says the order is worth €2.4 billion, and it plans to deliver the satellites by 2030. A new Charleroi factory is set to produce up to 500 satellites a year from 2027.

Airbus is building at least 66 satellites for the first layer of military communications, which is due to be ready in 2029. The entire low-orbit segment has been allocated. In Germany, Bremen-based space company Orbitale Hochtechnologie Bremen (OHB) signed a contract worth just under €1 billion with satellite operator SES on 31 August for 18 medium-orbit satellites. Each will weigh around 2.6 tonnes at launch.

OHB chief executive Marco Fuchs called the programme an important step towards greater European independence. Germany’s share of the work has already prompted a dispute: in December 2023, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs sent companies involved a strongly worded letter demanding urgent clarification of German industry’s participation and its share in value creation, the Frankfurter Rundschau daily reported.

The military’s parallel constellation

Germany also plans a separate national satellite network for the Bundeswehr, financed by the federal government. Major General Armin Fleischmann, the Bundeswehr’s space commissioner in the Cyber and Information Domain, told regional public broadcaster MDR that the plan is for a constellation similar to Starlink, but smaller. He told the Handelsblatt business newspaper that they wanted to have “flying Fritzboxes” in space.

The network, called SATCOMBw 4, is initially meant to cover NATO’s eastern flank under national control, with individual components supplied by Western partners, including the United States. At full expansion, the Bundeswehr says it will comprise a three-digit number of low-Earth-orbit satellites and cost between eight and ten billion euros. An initial constellation of up to 40 satellites is scheduled to be operational in 2029, with full operations planned from 2030.

In September 2025, defence minister Boris Pistorius announced that €35 billion would go to military space projects by 2030. The Bremen-based joint venture “OHB Rheinmetall Space Networks” is bidding for the SATCOMBw 4 contract. OHB would build the satellites, while Rheinmetall would handle ground stations and end devices. No decision has been taken.

Dependence dressed up as independence

The timetable hinges on access to rockets. Experts see launches as a bottleneck, and Europe relies on Ariane 6, which has launched since 2024. Andreas Knopp of the Bundeswehr University Munich told the weekly paper Das Parlament that launch numbers are limited. Political scientist Antje Nötzold of TU Chemnitz described a “launcher problem” to MDR.

Ariane 6 has launched four times so far this year, including three flights carrying satellites for Amazon Leo, the US company’s satellite internet service meant to compete with Starlink. Amazon has booked at least 18 Ariane 6 launches. In early August, the Commission named procurement of launch services for IRIS² as one of its next steps.

This week, the Ukrainian army reported restrictions on Starlink: connections drop when receivers travel faster than 160 kilometres per hour, as drones do. The service was partially restored at first, but an upper limit remained. It’s unclear who ordered the restriction. SpaceX boss Elon Musk denied that the company ordered the shutdown, writing on X that Starshield is under the direct control of the US government.

Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski wrote on X: “Hey, Elon Musk, you big man, are you once again playing politics with your products? As your European customers we are keeping a close eye on you.” Poland has paid for a large share of the Ukrainian terminals. The reported restrictions have revived questions about armed forces’ dependence on satellite links, as Europe builds networks intended to put those links under state and European control.